


Ace of Hearts

by writer_roha



Series: Astro Bday Project [4]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Kinda, Slow Burn, Thief AU, crime partners to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 00:53:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14249544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer_roha/pseuds/writer_roha
Summary: Partners in crime to..partners in life?





	Ace of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> im not saying this is the product of me seeing one pic of jinjin in a black turtleneck but-

Some called you partners in crime. It wasn't 100 percent accurate or anything, but you let it pass. It wasn't like it was fate or anything. You had worked a few jobs together in your late teens and next thing you knew it became a regular thing. 

Your so-called career began at the humble age of sixteen. You weren't some tough kid that was passed from home to home as a child, in fact you grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth and a fortune in your lap. The future could have been bright if it hadn't been for your parents; uncaring yet agonizingly strict at the same time. You could barely stand beneath the weight. But the first time you shoplifted, oh the thrill. It brought you a high and piece of freedom you never thought could grace your spirit. When the excitement began to melt away, you pickpocketed for the first time. Then you did it again. 

And again.

It was never really huge things that you took, just wallets or watches, anything small and accessible was on the table. Then one day, you pickpocketed the wrong person.

You had no trouble slipping his simple leather wallet out of his back pocket, but when you met him again, it was because he had followed you into a small alley. You were surprised to see that he was smiling when he had you cornered. 

"If you'd be so kind as to return my wallet to me, I think I'd like to introduce you to someone," the boy smirked. He was a bit short and at the time, his hair was black.

It was the first time you had been caught and you were already having trouble breathing as the panic arose in your throat. Your first thought was to run, but you knew there was no way out. "I'm really sorry," you choked out, pulling his wallet out of your pocket, "Please don't report me to the police, I'll do anything!"

"Oh my goodness, just breathe," he rushed over, taking his wallet back and placing a hand on your shoulder in an attempt to calm you, "Of course I won't report you! I want you to meet my boss is all. I'm a pickpocket too, so the fact that I didn't notice that you stole my stuff right away means you have potential and we could use someone like you!"

Once you caught your breath, you let your head wrap around the situation. "Someone like me?" you tilted your head.

"I think it would be fun to work with someone my age, everyone in the group is old and cranky," he smiled and you wondered to yourself how someone so bright could be an experienced criminal. "So will you come?"

You didn't know where this could lead you, but you found yourself nodding. 

On the way there, the boy introduced himself as Jinwoo. He had apparently been raised by this crime group as he was an orphan so it was all he really knew. You were a bit embarrassed when he got a good laugh out of hearing about your cushy background. 

Jinwoo had been thieving for his group since he was young and he said the only reason he was stealing small things from people instead of casing houses and businesses was because his boss didn't want him to be doing any big jobs til he was at least of age. Jinwoo assured you that he was definitely capable of doing bigger jobs and he couldn't wait to turn 18.

Much to your surprise, Jinwoo's hideout was somewhere quite tame compared to what you were envisioning. His boss ran his business of sorts in the back of an ice cream shop. In your head, you thought that their little "crime base" would be in the sewers or something, but maybe you were just watching a bit too much tv.

Once you entered the bright shop, Jinwoo gave a nod to the clerk at the counter and motioned for you to follow behind. He led you into the walk-in freezer, and once inside, to another door that led to a basement. "Just down here," he muttered. At the bottom of the stairs was another door, and you could hear sound emitting from behind it; there were others here and it was bustling. Your companion opened the door to reveal a common room filled with mostly adults chatting or eating. "This is home," Jinwoo announced to you, taking you by the hand to the bar counter where an older man was serving drinks. "I'll taķe your finest wine," Jinwoo requested zealously, to which the bartender snickered and slid across a glass of orange juice and then another for yourself.

"And who is this?" the older man motioned to you kindly.

"I want you to hire her," Jinwoo grinned. So the bar-hand was also the one running the show here.

"Hire her?" he echoed.

"You'll never believe this," Jinwoo began, "She stole my wallet and it must've been like, five or ten minutes before I even noticed! Crazy, right?" It was certainly the first you had heard of someone gushing about being stolen from. 

The man's eyebrows raised in intrigue at his protégé's statement. Perhaps you had done something noteworthy after all. "And you're interested in this line of work, miss?" he asked.

"I think so, yes," you nodded slowly. There was nothing left for you at home and you hadn't been here two minutes and you were already feeling welcomed.

"It has to be a firm yes," he said sternly, "This is for life. If there is something that you cannot leave behind for this, then it would not be wise to dive headfirst into this. Perhaps you need time to think?"

"I don't need time. It's a yes," you affirmed with a resolve you didn't know you had.

And in that matter, it was settled.

 

Five-or-so years passed before you knew it. When you first started out, you saw less of Jinwoo than you had originally thought you would as almost immediately, you were taken under the wings of various mentors to assess what you already knew and build upwards from there. A few months of work told you that you were best at things where stealth was involved. It also told you that smooth talking your way out of a situation was by no means your forté. At all. In fact, you were advised by a few others to try your best not to speak when stuck in a troublesome situation as they were sure, you'd probably make it worse.

And that was why around the same time you were allowed to start casing and robbing larger things, you were paired with Jinwoo. He was more than excited to start bigger jobs so he happily took you on. 

Jinwoo had a relatively balanced skillset much like your own, but when it came to keeping a cool head and diffusing a difficult situation, he was a god-send. It wasn't a talent that was often used since ideally, jobs could be carried out without any need for conflict resolution between partners, or worse, those who were being robbed, but it was still crucial as a last resort. 

You were delighted to be paired up with him for the few jobs that you were put together in the beginning. You had seldom seen him around much and maybe it was the nostalgia tugging at your heartstrings but he was like an old friend to you. You couldn't lie and say you weren't a good team, because you were. The two of you made an amazing team and it did not go unnoticed by your boss or fellow thieves. And so it became a permanent thing. 

You and Jinwoo, wonder duo. The young partners in crime.

It must've been about a year into your time as partners when you heard that the two of you were being dubbed as "the married couple" amongst the community. Maybe it stemmed from the easy chemistry that flowed between the two of you, or maybe just the sheer amount of time you had known each other. You didn't know who started it and luckily for them, because if you did know, you'd certainly be out for blood. Once the name was passed around a few times, it became impossible to shake no matter how hard you tried. Jinwoo didn't seem to mind it; he had his fair share of being the butt of the joke and he'd had worse said about him. You, however, hot-headed as always, despised it. 

Married? To him? In this economy? Anyone who thought that there was any romantic feelings between the two of you was a fool. Jinwoo was your trustworthy colleague, nothing more. You were not in love with him.

(Except you were.)

 

You couldn't pinpoint the exact moment in time where you realized you were in love with Jinwoo. Most days of the week were spent with the man, so a lot of it was just an easy blur.

Maybe it had been because good or bad, he never failed to treat you to ice cream from the parlour above the base after every job. It could have just as easily been when he dyed his hair red when he turned twenty. Or perhaps when on his seventeenth birthday he asked you to be his first kiss so he could "just get it over with". He never spoke of it again afterwards. Whether you liked it or not, you were in love with Park Jinwoo; maybe a little too much for your own good. 

Jinwoo was not in love with you. This much you knew for sure. Other than the foolish kiss (that young age was to blame for), he displayed no other signs. He was more than attractive and met his fair share of other attractive people even outside of his line of work. 

He was the only one you really had, so you wouldn't even dare conceptualize the idea that he and you could be a thing. If someway, somehow Jinwoo shared your feelings- no. You wouldn't even think about it. There was no way, and even if he did, the risk was too great. Relationships failed everyday and you would not lose your greatest friend over fleeting feelings.

 

It was a still night and you had a job with Jinwoo. An easy in-and-out job at a wealthy person's house that you knew not the name of. You had done a thousand of these before, same as Jinwoo.

No words were exchanged as the two of you entered the house from an open window. Only knowing glances were swapped as each of you surveyed your own areas for alarms and such. The only time you really talked was when you knew you were completely alone and only had easy motions to go through; things you could do on autopilot.

You had been there for maybe ten minutes. Jinwoo spoke first. "I wish I had someone to sleep next to at night," he sighed exhaustedly.

Instantly your head whipped up from your spot on the floor where you were searching under the bed and in the bedside tables for valuables. Jinwoo wasn't the musing type. "You're telling me this, why?" you fought hard to keep a straight face, not letting the blush come up. 

"Because you're here," he shrugged while filing through a bookshelf. It really couldn't get any more vague and open-ended than that. "What, I can't say what's on my mind?" the red-head whined. 

"You can," you sighed, "You've just never talked about love much." The main bedroom was clear save for some spare jewelry you found in a cabinet in the closet, so the two of you moved to the study in the neighbouring room. 

"I'm in the mood for love!" Jinwoo exclaimed wildly from across the room.

"Jinwoo!" you hissed, running across the room and pressing a finger to his lips, "We're robbing a house, not attending a concert, you dummy! Keep quiet."

"I'm in the mood for love," he whispered in vain against your finger. 

Shaking your head, you let yourself leave the room with a dumb smile plastered on your face. Racing heart or not, you had a job to complete.

As always, Jinwoo treated your for ice cream once you were finished. You shared a bowl of strawberry.

 

It must have been your most important job yet. The city's art council had just set up a temporary exhibit displaying the paintings of a local but famous artist from the 1800s. The exhibit would only be up for five days so your time window was small. Stakes were high as the two of you were eager to succeed and eager to impress. You couldn't forget the way your chest swelled with pride when your boss had finally entrusted you to a large task and you didn't want to disappoint.

Jinwoo's face was steely and he had barely spoken since you had arrived. You were unused to the absence of his playful side but you saw that it could probably be attributed to the difficult task at hand. He wanted to get out of there just as much as you.

Despite how small the venue was compared to the main museum branch where these pieces would have normally been displayed, there were two guards on duty, and the entire place was securely alarmed. The alarms weren't a surprising precaution but you would definitely have to keep your wits about you around the guards. 

Forty-five minutes had since passed and you had each gotten just about everything you had been instructed to take. The main exhibit- a medium sized painting depicting the sunset in the mountains- was taken out of its case and stored well in your bag. "That everything?" you whispered to your partner.

"Yeah," he paused, "But I think I saw a safe back there." He pointed to the closed door you had both left alone as it wasn't your main task.

"So?" you asked pointedly.

"I'm just thinking, the guards have yet to catch on so I'd say we have a good twenty minutes till things start getting rough which is more than enough time for me to crack that safe," Jinwoo explained, "I'm kinda on a high right now and I think we can pull it off! We're the dream team."

"Jinwoo, I don't know about this," you said uneasily, "We got everything we need, is it really worth the risk?"

"Going above and beyond is what's gonna get us better jobs in the future! Trust me, please," he gazed at you sincerely and it took everything not to melt on the spot.

"Okay, I trust you. But if things aren't looking good, then we are leaving immediately, safe or not." 

"Understood," he nodded. 

The safe wasn't huge but it wasn't small either. It was a wall safe and stood about the height of your torso. You guessed that inside was either money or the rest of the artist's work waiting to be set out. Whatever it was, it had to be important. "Can you do this?" you asked to clarify as you watched him inspect the safe.

"I think so, yeah. Thankfully it's a combination safe with a dial instead of buttons, and I've done a few of those, so we should be good," the red-head affirmed, "Just keep watch for me." 

You kept silent and instead kept a close eye on the outside hallway once Jinwoo's ear pressed against the cool metal of the safe and he listened closely as he turned the dials. 

Five minutes had passed, but still nothing. The guards had yet to come around, and Jinwoo was still patiently working at the wheel. 

"Anything?" you tried.

"Not yet," he said curtly.

You were beginning to get a bit anxious. "If you don't think you can do it, it's okay. We got all we need," you said gently, trying not to step on his pride too much.

Jinwoo sighed, taking his head off of the safe and turning to you. "Y/N, I love you, you're the love of my life and everything, but I'm gonna need you to just keep quiet for a bit longer and just let me do my thing," he reassured before turning back to his task.

Wait, love of his life?

"Jinwoo, what did you just say?" you choked out.

He sighed exasperatedly, "What did I just say about keeping quie-"

"You love me?!" you exclaimed. Your head spun as you blurted the words. Maybe he didn't mean it that way. He couldn't.

"Goodness," he rolled his eyes, "This isn't news. I thought you knew! I thought we had this kinda no-labels thing going on!" 

"What are you talking about? You've never once expressed any romantic feelings for me," your eyebrows furrowed. Didn't he get it? This wasn't some game, he couldn't just throw words like love around carelessly. Why didn't he understand that a relationship was not something you could have? Not when you worked so closely together.

"Well I'm in love with you, so there," he huffed. By now, he had abandoned the safe and was now facing you to argue.

"You're just saying that, Jinwoo. You don't love me. You just think you do because I'm your age and we've known each other for so long," you supplied. Jinwoo hadn't been in love before, how could he possibly know? He was just latching onto you because he spent all his time with you. It wasn't love. Couldn't be.

"What the fuck? Is that what you think of me?" Jinwoo yelled as he stood up from his spot by the safe and stepped closer to you, "Do you think I'm stupid? I know what love is, and if you don't feel the same then that's your problem. Don't go twisting my feelings." 

You were about to counter, maybe tell him that you did return his feelings, but that it wouldn't work.

"Is someone there?" a foreign voice yelled from down the hall.

"Shit, why weren't you keeping watch?" Jinwoo hissed, grabbing his go-bag and shoving your own into your hands.

"You were the one that was yelling like an amateur dipshit," you shot back while the two of you ran down the hallway away from the voice and towards your original entrypoint. 

"You had one job," he fumed.

 

The two of you were able to get out before being spotted, and you didn't stop running till you got to a secluded alleyway almost three blocks away. 

"You can't just go throwing around confessions on the job, Jinwoo! We almost got caught because of you, and it was our first big job too!" you accused, shoving his chest.

"Don't you fucking blame me. You were the one watching the door and a stupid love confession from someone who doesn't know anything about love apparently should not be phasing you, not this late in the game," he glowered, and you felt a pang in your chest. 

"Oh, come on, like you actually know anything about love," you scoffed, "All you've done is thieve since you were born, we both know you never had time to even think about love. I was the first person you spent your days with and you latched onto me." You felt terrible as the words slid out of your mouth. You didn't know why you couldn't just accept it. Maybe he was in love with you, maybe he wasn't, but that wasn't for you to decide. But you were afraid. 

"Fuck off! I've been in head over heels for you since forever! Do you seriously think during those years I never even once thought about those feelings? Tested if they were real? I know they're real!" he cried and you didn't know if it was from anger or desperation. "You know what? Maybe I chose the wrong person to fall for. I don't think we should work together anymore," he said, his eyes not meeting your's, "I'll see you around."

"Jinwoo," you croaked, but he walked away anyway and you couldn't stop him.

 

You hadn't seen much of Jinwoo in weeks. The base was unavoidable so you'd catch a glance of him every now and then, but he never looked at you and it made you ache. You had gone back to solo jobs for the time being and you didn't even have the energy to protest when you'd heard chirpings of your fellow thieves gossiping about how the married couple had broken up.

With the passing time, you pondered on what Jinwoo had said to you. Maybe he really did love you, and out of cowardice, you let it all slip away. It was almost ironic how you took the enormous leap of leaving behind your old life for something far more dangerous and unpredictable than you could've ever imagined, but you couldn't dare take the step to risk a relationship with Jinwoo. He was dependable, you knew this. Your partner had a sly tongue like many other thieves you had met, but you knew that you could trust him. You had let the what ifs crush your heart and ended up pushing him away though.

Whenever you passed him in the common area, you yearned to get his attention, even just a glance. A part of you wanted to talk to him, but what was there to say? Jinwoo thought that you didn't return his feelings after you flat out yelled at him for confessing. Were there even words to express how sorry you were?

 

After the exhibit job, you had only done house jobs; they were easy enough for one person to manage. It was just a run-of-the-mill kind of job and it was nowhere near as difficult as any of the other jobs you had done in the past. The owner of the house was a sole man- a widower from several years ago. He was attending a gala of sorts and he was not supposed to be home till the next morning.

So why were you hearing footsteps coming up the staircase?

Instantly, you froze up in your spot. Had you received the wrong information? Why was he back? As the adrenaline kicked in, you searched frantically for a way out. The window was too high up and the room was at the end of the hallway directly facing the top of the staircase; in a few seconds you would be found out. There was no time to hide and as the milliseconds spun by you couldn't even begin to formulate the words you'd need to get out of this situation. You needed Jinwoo.

The footsteps reached the last stair and stopped to pause at the top. You saw the figure in the dark and a million apologies and excuses were piling up in your mouth to spill through. But he spoke first. 

"What the fuck,"

This was no old man's voice. It was familiar.

"Hello?" you squeaked. You couldn't make out who it was in the dark. The figure took a step closer and you were able to make out his face. It was Jinwoo. "What the fuck?!" you echoed.

"What are you doing here? This is my job!" Jinwoo demanded.

"No, it's mine!" you blurted, "God, did you not tell the boss that we don't work together anymore?"

"No, I thought you did," Jinwoo's brows furrowed. You missed that look. "Listen, I'll just go. You can finish the job and I'll tell the boss what's going on."

As he turned, you realized that you couldn't let him slip through your grasp again. It was the first time he had spoken to you in weeks. 

"Jinwoo, wait," you pleaded, "Just- just stay. We can finish this together." 

"Why?"

"I want to talk after. Please," you insisted.

The red-head sighed and pushed up the wire frames that you loved of his. "Frankly, I'm not in the mood to get my heart broken a second time, I'm sorry."

"I love you too!" you bursted. 

"What?" his head shot up.

"I love you too," you breathed, letting a smile grace your lips as you felt the weight left from your shoulders.

"What?" Jinwoo squawked, pacing madly towards you, "Since when?" 

"Not now," you shook your head with a laugh, "Later. We almost got caught last time, I'm not risking that again. Help me finish this job and we can talk about it later over ice cream. My treat." 

You swore that you had never seen someone rob a place so fast. 

 

Jinwoo was practically buzzing as you set a bowl of cookie dough ice cream between the two of you in the empty ice cream parlour. The store always had a different air about it at night. The lights were off, with only the moonlight from the window casting a beam into the room and the hum of the freezer was all that could be heard among the still air.

"Okay, we can talk now," you nodded, feeling a bit nervous sitting in front of your partner for the first time in what must have been forever.

"You love me?" he croaked as he let his gaze meet your own.

"I do, yes,"

"Then why the harsh rejection at the exhibit?" he pressed on, wasting no time.

"I was afraid," you confessed, "I must've loved you for the longest time, and I could never even imagine that you would feel the same. And when you did, it threw me for a loop. I didn't know whether to believe you. Then I started to get more frightened because I didn't know if we would last if we did start something and I didn't know if being selfish and letting myself have you was worth risking our entire relationship and career together. You know that I've always been bad at making decisions."

"Oh," Jinwoo deflated, "Well it probably wasn't so smart of me to dump all my feelings on you on the job like that. I do know how terribly you deal with surprises. I apologize for that, I was feeling impatient and I just wanted to start kissing you already."

"We both make our fair share of mistakes then, huh," you sighed, letting yourself sink into your chair.

"For the record, I do think we could make it work though. We can take our time if you want but we're the dream team, the law has yet to get us, what makes you think that we're not already unstoppable?" Jinwoo grinned easily. 

"But what if we break up and ruin our friendship?" you reasoned, "I wanna be with you too, but I don't want to lose you if things go south either."

"Well if anybody's breaking up with anybody, it'll have to be you with me, because I'd never break up with you in a million years," he shrugged.

"Jinwoo, come on,"

"What, do you think that you're gonna do something that'll hurt me that bad? Are you gonna cheat on me?"

"What? No!" you scoffed.

"Are you planning on treating me like shit when we get together?" 

"No, what are you talking about?" you asked, a bit befuddled by his outrageous question. In what world would you not cherish Jinwoo to your fullest ability?

"Then, I'd have no reason to break up with you. Simple as that," he supplied, as if it was the easiest thing.

"So we're doing this?" you said after a moment.

"Yeah! Then maybe eventually we can actually become the criminal married couple everyone always mocks us for,"

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to check me out at www.writer-roha.tumblr.com or www.sanhasus.tumblr.com


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